Paulo Planet Buarque dies, São Paulo shirt creator, World Cup brawler | OneFootball

The oldest lifetime advisor of São Paulo, journalist Paulo Planet Buarque, passed away this Friday (13th) at the age of 98 in São Paulo's capital. The Morumbi club mourned the loss through its social media.

Born on October 8, 1927, Paulo Planet was one of the great cardinals in the club's history. Connected to the Tricolor since 1939, when the team still played on the field at Rua da Mooca, he became a member in September 1942. Shortly after, he assumed key positions within the organization. He was elected for five consecutive terms, from 1954 to 1970, to the Deliberative Council, until he was named a lifetime advisor in 1973.

Before that, he had already been a prominent figure revolutionizing the Tricolor's communication as the director of the advertising department between 1954 and 1956, and leading the great dream of São Paulo fans: the construction of Morumbi, as a member of the Pro-Stadium Commission.

Planet's attitude and actions soon earned him the honorable title of honorary member (in October 1960). Some time later, he also proved himself by leading the club's professional football department – he was even responsible for developing a special and iconic Tricolor jersey, rarely used in 1966.

Planet never liked the fact that the Tricolor always used the same uniforms and therefore fought for the club to create alternative styles. Visionary, he believed that selling jerseys could be a source of income. The 1966 kit, by the way, can be classified as the first in Brazilian football history to have a launch event, which included journalists and guests playing a friendly match at Morumbi (see the photo below).

In 1994, he was honored with the São-Paulina Perseverance Order and, two years later, was elected president of the Deliberative Council, a position he held again in 2000, remaining in the post until 2002.

In the following decades, he still held some consultancy and administrative roles at the club – even assuming the interim presidency of the Tricolor in December 2005, while the effective president, Marcelo Portugal Gouvêa, accompanied the São Paulo delegation, world champions in Japan.

Prominent, he was elected in 2014 as president of another major power of the club, the Advisory Council, which he led until March 2015.

Outside São Paulo, Planet also built an outstanding career. He graduated in Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo in 1954. He quickly ventured into journalism, especially sports journalism. He worked at Rádio Record, Rádio Pan-Americana, Rádio Bandeirantes, and the newspaper A Gazeta Esportiva. The quality of his work was recognized with 11 Roque Pintos trophies for best sports commentator and two more for best TV presenter.

He also participated in the coverage of seven World Cups (between 1950 and 1974). In 1958, in particular, he assisted the head of the delegation, Paulo Machado de Carvalho, in the famous action plan of the Brazilian Sports Confederation – CBD, which culminated in the unprecedented World Cup victory by the Brazilian National Team.

During the 1954 World Cup coverage, he was involved in a curious episode when he attacked referee Artur Elis along with São Paulo midfielder Bauer, after the Brazilian National Team's elimination by Hungary in the quarter-finals.

Planet gets into a fight during the 1954 World Cup (Morumbiteca)

Planet alongside Leônidas: he was one of the biggest supporters of hiring the veteran from Rio and later became his personal friend (Morumbiteca)

Planet (the first on the left) alongside other journalists wearing his proud (or would it be dubious) creation (Morumbiteca)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.